Hertha injury list lengthens

German 1. Bundesliga side Hertha BSC Berlin's UEFA Cup hopes suffered a triple injury blow last night in their 2-1 league defeat against VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Brazilians out
Hertha face Scottish side Aberdeen FC next Tuesday in a UEFA Cup first round first-leg encounter and will be without Brazilian Nene, who suffered a rupture of a muscle fibre in his left thigh last night, and his countryman Alexandro Alves, who has dislocated his shoulder. Both players will be sidelined for two or three weeks.

Preetz worry
Meanwhile, skipper Michael Preetz, who played for the full 90 minutes against Mönchengladbach, is suffering a ligament problem in his left knee and had to miss training today. His participation against Aberdeen must also be considered doubtful.

Long injury list
Hertha already have a long injury list with defenders Andreas Schmidt, Joe Simunic, Denis Lapaczinski and Dick van Burik all out of Saturday's league game against DSC Arminia Bielefeld and serious doubts for the Aberdeen game. Furthermore, Marko Rehmer is still suffering from problems with an injury to his left eye.